Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets: Being a selection, with revision, from the teachers' leaflets, home nature-study lessons, junior naturalist monthlies and other publications from the College of Agriculture, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., 1896-1904New York State College of Agriculture
History
Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets: Being a selection, with revision, from the teachers' leaflets, home nature-study lessons, junior naturalist monthlies and other publications from the College of Agriculture, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., 1896-1904
New York State College of Agriculture
Natural history; Nature study
In this spirit agriculture is divided into its teachable units. The
lists of divisions of the teaching force or curriculum in the larger
agricultural colleges illustrate this admirably. In Illinois, for
example, the title of professors and instructors are associated with
such divisions as thremmatology, agronomy, pomology, olericulture,
floriculture, soil physics, dairy husbandry, dairy manufacture, horses,
beef cattle, swine husbandry, farm crops. At Cornell the coördinate
departments of instruction in the College of Agriculture are classified
as agricultural chemistry, economic entomology, soils, agronomy,
horticulture, animal husbandry with its sub-department of poultry
husbandry, dairy industry, agricultural engineering and architecture,
the farm home, rural economy and sociology, out-door art (including
landscape gardening), nature-study for teachers, besides miscellaneous
courses--making altogether thirteen divisions. The courses now offered
in the Cornell College of Agriculture, not including the winter-courses,
are 76, of which 71 are to be given in the next academic year. Nearly
all these courses comprise a half-year's work.
While all this subdividing represents progress there are disadvantages
attending it, because it tends to give a partial view of the subject.
The larger number of farmers must engage in general "mixed husbandry"
rather than in specialties. Farming is a philosophy, not a mere process.
The tendency of the inevitable subdividing of the subjects is to force
the special view rather than the general view, as if, in medicine,
students were to become specialists rather than general practitioners.
The farm-philosophy idea was represented by the older teachers of
agriculture. Of these men Professor Roberts is a typical example, and
his work in making students to be successful, all-around farmers is not
yet sufficiently appreciated. Much of this farm philosophy is now coming
into the courses of instruction under the titles of rural economy, rural
economics, rural sociology and the like. I have sometimes thought that
the time may come when we will again have professors of "agriculture"
who will coördinate and synthesize the work of the agronomist, soil
physicist, chemist, dairyman and others. However, the dividing has not
yet worked any harm, and perhaps my fears are ungrounded; and it is
certain that with increasing knowledge and specialization the courses of
instruction must still further divide.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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